Mastercard and Women Choice expand partnership to further invest in the development of women entrepreneurs across Middle East and Africa

• Mastercard-Women Choice partnership is aligned with the goal to create 1 million jobs for women by 2030
• Women Choice successfully completes 2023 pilot cohort and launches two more in 2024 aiming to impact 50,000 women

2 April 2024, Dubai, UAE: Mastercard and Women Choice have expanded their partnership to launch two programs – ImpactHer and EmpowerHer – to support women entrepreneurs grow their business and create jobs across the Middle East and Africa.

Women Choice - an international organization dedicated to advancing women’s personal and professional development - launched the pilot cohort in 2023.The next cohorts will be participating in the new programs this year and will aim to impact 50,000 women.

Mastercard has been at the forefront of providing women with access to digital tools, training to help them start and grow their businesses, creating mentorship and networking platforms and working with employers to create more jobs for women.

The collaboration with Women Choice is a step further in reinforcing their joint commitment to empowering female-led businesses with resources and growth opportunities with a goal of providing 1 million employment opportunities for women by 2030.

These programs will offer comprehensive support via trainings and mentorship for women entrepreneurs and helps them create employment opportunities for other women in their chosen field.

“At Mastercard, we are committed to creating a more inclusive and equitable world, where everyone has the opportunity to thrive. Our expanded partnership with Women Choice will not only have a significant impact on women in the workplace across the region, but also provide women entrepreneurs with the right skills, resources and tools to succeed and drive economic growth in the region,” said Amnah Ajmal, Executive Vice President, Market Development, EEMEA, Mastercard.

“We are proud to see the successful results of the program launched in 2023 in collaboration with Mastercard and are excited to see the partnership continuing to grow through 2024. We are now focusing on scaling the impact. Bringing change and improving the situation of women in the workplace and providing support to women-led businesses is a key element to help economies in the Middle East and Africa region grow and further thrive,” said Nezha Alaoui, Founder & CEO of Women Choice.

Globally, 15,000 women are already part of the Women Choice network and have participated in 100+ accelerator programs and conferences organized in recent years.